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[NTU] [ARC-18] Chapter : 220
🕑 Added 2024-12-06 19:15:53 +0000 UTC"What else can you do? Just let it be," Mangetsu muttered with a roll of his eyes before grabbing the cup of tea beside him and downing it in one swift gulp. The frustration and agitation of the conversation had left him parched, and he needed the reprieve.
"Mei, what’s the latest news on Elder Genji's side...?" Mangetsu asked after setting the cup down. His gaze shifted to Terumi Mei, who stood by the window, seemingly lost in thought as she watched the bustling activity on the dock outside.
He hoped to glean some insight from Mei about Elder Genji's movements or plans.
"Elder Genji has no real solution," Mei replied, her voice calm but laced with an underlying tension. Her eyes drifted away from the dock, meeting Mangetsu’s gaze as she continued.
The news Terumi Mei had received from the elders was harsher and more disheartening than anything Mangetsu or the others had anticipated.
The village had already laid its plans, merely waiting for the bloodline clans to rebel so they could justify eliminating them under the guise of quelling an uprising.
"Mangetsu, Kaito, the only advice Genji-sama could offer us was to remain patient," Terumi Mei said, her tone heavy with frustration.
Despite Elder Genji's respected status in Kirigakure Village, his influence had limits. He wasn’t the Mizukage, and with several elders aligning themselves with the Mizukage's authority, he was powerless to stop the systematic eradication of the bloodline clans. All he could do was watch as clan after clan fell to Yagura’s oppressive regime.
Mei couldn’t shake the feeling that something was deeply wrong. The village elders and even the Fourth Mizukage himself seemed strangely... off. The entire village was steeped in an eerie, oppressive atmosphere.
"Be patient?!" Kaito snapped, his frustration boiling over. "How can we stay patient? The sword of the Mizukage is already at our throats. If we keep waiting, the only thing that awaits us is death!"
After hearing Mei's grim explanation, despair clouded the eyes of both Mangetsu Hōzuki and Kaguya Kaito.
It wasn’t just the two of them. Everyone in the cabin wore the same heavy expression of sorrow.
For most of them, the grim reality seemed unavoidable. Many believed this mission wasn’t about assassinating Uchiha Shisui—it was a death march orchestrated by their own village. The Hidden Mist was simply using Konoha as a convenient executioner to eliminate the bloodline clans.
“Maybe… we should defect,” someone finally muttered, breaking the oppressive silence.
The suggestion, simple yet radical, made several pairs of lifeless eyes flicker with renewed hope.
Indeed, compared to being slaughtered by the Fourth Mizukage and erased from history, defection suddenly seemed like an appealing alternative.
“But… if we defect, what about our clans? Our families? They’ll suffer the village’s wrath. And we’ll be hunted endlessly by the hunter-nin!”
The hope sparked by the idea dimmed slightly as the reality of their situation set in again. The weight of the consequences was heavy, and the room fell into silence once more.
Defection inevitably meant facing pursuit by the Mist's relentless Hunter forces. Each individual in the group had been carefully chosen by the Mist Ninja for this mission, and every one of them carried ties to the village—people and things they couldn’t bear to leave behind.
"While defecting means being hunted, at least it offers a slim chance at survival," someone murmured, their tone betraying their wavering resolve.
Despite their selection for loyalty and strength, cracks began to show among them. Some wrestled with the harsh reality—whether to perish in a futile stand or escape and preserve their lives.
A few even entertained unspoken, audacious ideas:
"As long as I survive, I’ll have time to rebuild. I can create a new family somewhere else."
The room buzzed with quiet murmurs of dissent until a voice of reason cut through the chaos.
"No! If we defect, we won’t just destroy ourselves but also doom every family in the village. The Fourth Mizukage will show no mercy. He’s simply waiting for us to give him the proof he needs to wipe out our clans."
Another countered, desperation tinging their words, "But if we stay, we’re marching to our deaths! At least by defecting, we have a shot at staying alive."
The tension in the room thickened, split between the desire to flee and the fear of retaliation.
"Fuck...the morale is in shambles."
Mei sighed, massaging her temples as she looked at her subordinates, whose eyes flickered with uncertainty. Facing Uchiha Shisui, the renowned "Shunshin no Shisui," with this group? Even with their numerical advantage, she had little confidence in their resolve or success.
"Enough! This isn’t your home turf, and there are outsiders here. Watch your words!"
As she mentioned "outsiders," Mei’s sharp gaze shifted to a tall, thin, blue-haired man wearing an eyepatch, standing quietly nearby.
Her words seemed to jolt the bloodline ninjas in the room, who suddenly remembered that there was, indeed, a non-bloodline ninja present among them.
One by one, their eyes turned toward the man in the corner, his forehead glistening with sweat.
'I hope they don’t kill me,' thought Ao, his heart pounding. After hearing so many treasonous remarks and now being subjected to their intense stares, he couldn’t help but panic.
Ao desperately wanted to declare his allegiance, to remind them that he, too, was one of their own. After all, he possessed the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan, a rare kekkei genkai that aligned him with their kind. But his rational mind held him back, keeping him silent.
“Ao... you're with us, aren’t you?”
Mei’s voice broke the tension, her sharp yet considerate tone directed at him. She seemed more interested in easing the situation than adding fuel to the fire.
“Don’t pay attention to their nonsense. They’re just venting—they won’t actually act on it,” she reassured, though her words carried a subtle edge.
Then, with a scrutinizing look, she asked, “By the way, what did you hear? Anything of interest?”
Startled, Ao quickly shook his head. “Not a thing!” he replied, his voice laced with humility. “Nothing happened here at all.”
His deferential tone pleased Mei Terumi, though inwardly, Ao resolved to stick close to her during this mission. If anyone could keep him safe in this unpredictable situation, it was her.
If Ao didn’t tread carefully, he knew these volatile teammates might end his life before the Fourth Mizukage even had the chance to act against their families. The Mist Ninja were notorious for their ruthlessness, even when dealing with their own. Returning to the Hidden Mist Village offered no refuge either—his survival depended on navigating this precarious situation.
“Let’s focus on Uchiha Shisui,” Mei Terumi interrupted, her commanding tone breaking the uneasy silence. “You’ve encountered him before. Share what you know about him.”
Mei was visibly pleased with Ao’s submissive demeanor. He was proving to be someone who understood his position. Whether he would leave this mission alive might depend entirely on his usefulness moving forward.
“Yes, ma’am!” Ao responded without hesitation, lowering himself even further in his stance. Despite the disarray and desperation of these bloodline clans, he knew better than to underestimate them. Adopting an air of humility, Ao prepared to provide the intel Mei had requested.
“Uchiha Shisui is extraordinarily powerful—he has no discernible weaknesses!” Ao began with a serious tone. “He excels in genjutsu, the Body Flicker jutsu, fire-style ninjutsu, and the Uchiha clan’s signature swordsmanship. He is, quite literally, a perfect ninja.”
He paused briefly, emphasizing the point. “His Sharingan genjutsu, in particular, is incredibly dangerous, and his mastery of the Body Flicker makes him nearly untouchable in battle.”
“No weaknesses? A perfect ninja?” One of the bloodline clan members scoffed, clearly skeptical. “Ao, aren’t you exaggerating just a bit?”
The man’s doubt was laced with disbelief. According to Ao, this Uchiha Shisui seemed to be a master of ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu—a combination that sounded more like a legend than reality.
“No, I’m not exaggerating,” Ao replied calmly, his tone unwavering. “His Sharingan grants unparalleled insight, allowing him to anticipate and counter attacks with frightening precision. His genjutsu alone is enough to incapacitate most opponents. When you factor in his exceptional taijutsu, enhanced by his mastery of the Body Flicker Technique and his swordsmanship, he becomes an enemy without vulnerabilities. Combine all of this with his proficiency in fire-style ninjutsu, and he’s an opponent you can’t take lightly.”
Ao’s explanation left no room for further doubt. His calm but detailed analysis painted a picture of Shisui as a ninja who was as formidable as he was feared. The room grew quieter as the gravity of his words sank in.
